It was routine for Celestia at this point.
Each night when she would raise the moon into the sky, she found herself staring longingly at the image engraved upon it.
There was not a single day that she didn’t regret what she had done.
Her sister. Her own blood and kin. Banished.
Sometimes she would bring out one of her sister’s favorite books to read to her, others she would sing her lullaby to her. But most often, she would stare long and hard, the pain slowly engulfing her being. She would watch the moon where her sister resided, often until it was time to raise the sun once more.
So hence, when her image suddenly vanished ten years too early, Celestia thought that her mind had finally got the better of her.
Celestia paused, raising a hoof to rub her sleep-heavy eyes. Blinking a couple of times, she gazed back up at the moon, ready to continue watching her sister’s image.
Except…
It wasn’t there.
She was gone.
Her rose-colored eyes widened in horror. Wings spread wide, she immediately took off, back to her original home. The Castle of the Two Sisters.
The green fields of the lands that she ruled over blurred past her. She dully realized that she was passing over Ponyville when colorful houses came into view. Every once in a while she came across a lit home, only to be turned off mere moments later, the ponies of her land falling to sleep.
The dark and scraggly trees of the enchanted Everfree Forest quickly came into view. Her shadow cast over the treetops as she flew above the forest, eyes searching for the castle.
When she finally caught sight of it, she allowed her wings to fold against her body, diving into one of the holes in the decaying building.
She easily recognized the room as one of the ballrooms. Torn and faded banners hung upon the wall, cracked pillars lined the room, pieces of them scattered about. Dust rested on everything in the room, having nearly been a thousand since it last had last seen a living soul. The only beautiful thing that remained was a stained glass window, one that simmered color across the room in the light of the moon.
But her gaze was not focused on the window.
No.
It was focused on the stallion who stood in front of it.
He was not an alicorn like his older or younger sister, but rather a mere pegasus. The fur along his body was a deep black, reminiscent of the sky on a new moon night. His mane and tail did not flow like Celestia or her sister, it simply draped down along his neck and shoulders. It was a deep blue, the only thing that stood out about it was the white lights scattered about upon it.
He did not bother looking back at Celestia as she walked up, but the flick of his ear told her that he was aware of her presence.
As Celestia approached, she could see more of him. Like the royal regalia that adorned his body or how, despite her being an alicorn and older, he stood slightly taller than her. Finally, she could see his cutie mark, both the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper.
Finally, she stopped at the base of the stairs where he stood.
“Orion,” she called to him, her firm voice echoing in the near-empty room.
“Celestia,” he responded, glancing back at her and revealing his sparkling silver eyes.
“What is the meaning of this?” Her voice held a strained edge to it.
“What is the meaning of what?” The stallion asked, finally fully turning around to look at her.
“Can you not see it?” She asked, pointing at the empty moon with her wing, “Luna has escaped!”
Orion’s sparkling eyes widened, he followed her wing to the moon. “Oh,” he said breathlessly, “I hadn’t noticed.”
“What do you mean?”
Orion sent her an offended look, “Did you think I had something to do with this?”
“Well, I didn’t do anything!” Celestia said, “You’re the only other one who’s powerful enough to release her!”
Orion shook his head as he stepped toward her, “Celestia, you only managed to banish her in the first place with the aid of the elements of harmony! There’s no way that even I as a royal could have done anything to bring her back.”
Celestia felt her anxiety rise. “Then who could have done it?” She began pacing nervously, “If you nor I did it, then who?”
Orion was quiet before glancing at the tower that held the elements of harmony. “Do you think… that her banishment has finally worn off?”
Celestia shook her head. “No,” she said, “It is ten years too early.”
Orion moved to speak but was cut off by loud and sharp laughter.
A dark blue mist filled the air, circling above them. Thinking quickly, Orion leaped down from where he stood, wings spread to soften his landing. Just as he touched down next to his sister, the mist slammed down where he previously stood.
The dust that rested upon everything in the room was sent flying. It quickly filled Celestia’s and Orion’s lungs causing them to go into a violent coughing fit. When the cackle belted out into the room again Celestia peeled her eyes open struggling to see through the dusty air. Orion quickly remedied this, wings flapping and blowing the dust away from them.
Celestia nodded her thanks to her younger brother before turning to look at who had joined them.
The first thing she saw were those eyes. The same teal of her young sister, now mutated into a sadistic sort of glee. The similarities ended there though. From the misty mane and tail to the silver armor adorning her black fur, nothing was the same as her precious baby sister.
“Nightmare Moon,” Celestia said, voice cold.
The mare smirked, “So it seems that you remember my name, darling sister. I’d have thought otherwise.”
“How did you escape from the moon?” Orion asked, “Who in Equestria would help the likes of you?”
“Oh brother,” Nightmare Moon cooed mockingly, “Hatred is a powerful thing.”
“The elements are the most powerful force in all of Equestria!” Orion cried, “Could you really hate your own siblings so?”
Nightmare Moon chuckled and rolled her eyes, “Precious older brother, I don’t just hate you,” In a swirl of blue mist she disappeared from where she stood, appearing right in their faces. “I despise the both of you.”
Celestia shoved Orion behind her, wings shielding her younger brother from the corrupted mare.
She kept her voice steely when she spoke despite the pain that she felt from her sister’s words. “What is it that you want, Nightmare?”
Nightmare chuckled before disappearing and reappearing at the top of the stairs. “Nothing!”
Celestia and Orion exchanged deeply confused looks before turning back to the younger mare. Taking a deep breath, Celestia spoke, “What do you mean?”
“I just wanted to see my darling siblings before I won,” She smirked sending a haughty look to the two of them.
“The battle has just begun, Nightmare Moon!” Orion called from behind Celestia, “You have only just escaped from the moon!”
Nightmare Moon chuckled, “You’ll see, brother.” She then turned to Celestia, “Keep an eye on your oh-so-precious sun-loving children, sister. Else you may lose them to my night, forever.”
And with that, the dark blue mist from her mane swirled around the room alongside her cackles of glee. Orion struggled to get into the air, knocked down each time by the powerful winds created by the pseudo-tornado. Eventually, Celestia grabbed him and pulled him close, creating a golden-colored shield to protect them from the debris that was flung around the room.
Finally, when the last of the mist had faded, Celestia lowered her shield. She stepped away from Orion, staring up at where Nightmare Moon had previously stood. The silence filled the air in place of the previous laughter.
“Sister?” Orion hesitantly stepped forward, “What shall we do?”
“I…” Celestia trailed off. What were they going to do? Originally she was going to have one of her students harness the power of the elements of harmony alongside the aid of her friends to hopefully save her sister. But with how early Nightmare Moon had managed to escape, Celestia knew that none of her students were ready for such a task just yet.
“I don’t know,” She finally said, “I don’t know, Orion.”